Rout Like This Should Be Part Of Tech Routine

David Teel

November 03, 2003|By DAVID TEEL Daily Press

BLACKSBURG — Sunday dawn, and all is quiet here. Mist shrouds the football stadium and duck pond. Downtown merchants begin to arrive, Bollo's preparing for the cappuccino crowd, Joe's Diner for the biscuits-and-gravy bunch. Two students, discombobulated after an all-nighter, ask a jogger for directions to their dorm.

A routine morning after for any college town.

But is it a routine morning after for Virginia Tech's football team? This season's fate may hinge on the answer.

Saturday night, as you know, was anything but routine for the Hokies. They routed No. 2 Miami 31-7 for the program's first victory against a top-five opponent. This 10 days after a desultory effort in a 28-7 defeat at West Virginia.

"You find out a lot of things when (you) have (your) backs to the wall and people aren't saying nice things about you, people trash you a bit on TV," Tech coach Frank Beamer said.

Indeed, the Hokies (7-1) responded admirably to their first defeat of 2003. Now we'll see how they respond when the backslappers are telling them how good they are.

Sorry to be a buzz-killer, but Beamer and his players should not bask in Saturday. Take pride, absolutely. After all, no Miami team ranked among the top five this late in a season had endured such a one-sided loss. And no program since Oklahoma in the 1950s had won so many consecutive regular-season games (39).

Just don't bask. Make this a routine week.

The reason is obvious. Tech has four regular-season games remaining -- Saturday at Big East leader Pittsburgh followed by Temple (the only gimmie), Boston College and Virginia. Win out, and the Hokies earn at least a share of the Big East title and a probable (more on that word later) bid to a Bowl Championship Series game. Stumble once or twice, and listen to naysayers call Saturday a fluke.

Not that defeat would spoil the season. Good as Pittsburgh can be with Rod Rutherford throwing to Larry Fitzgerald, Tech could play well Saturday and lose.

Just don't bask. Just listen to Beamer describe the impact of beating Miami.

"How big depends on what we do next week and the week after that and the week after that."

If need be, Beamer has plenty of ammo to cure any Miami hangover. To wit: The Hurricanes ran 36 more plays, gained 158 more yards, recorded 10 more first downs and completed 27 more passes.

The Hokies overcame those deficiencies by forcing four turnovers, two of which they returned for touchdowns, and recording four sacks. In the process, they rendered all-everything tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. irrelevant, allowing him eight catches for a paltry 48 yards.

Speaking of quarterbacks, Tech starter Bryan Randall played poorly for a second consecutive game, and backup Marcus Vick threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to Ernest Wilford. Still, Beamer should start Randall at Pittsburgh.

Randall, a junior, has started 20 games for Tech. Vick, a redshirt freshman, has started none, and a road game against the conference's first-place team is no time for his first. That said, if Randall's troubles continue, the hook needs to be quick. The stakes -- a major bowl bid -- demand it.

How major? The Sugar Bowl, the national title game, is improbable at best. But if Tech finishes the regular season 11-1, a bid to one of the other BCS games -- Orange, Fiesta or Rose -- is all but assured.

The only possible glitch is the BCS standings. If Tech and Miami both go 11-1 and share the Big East title, the Hurricanes receive the conference's automatic BCS bid if they are first or second in the BCS standings, or more than five spots ahead of the Hokies. Then Tech, remembering the BCS' snub in 2000, would hope against hope for an at-large bid.

But those are discussions for another day. Better for Tech to think about Pittsburgh. Better for the Hokies to resume their routine.

David Teel can be reached at 247-4636 or by e-mail at dteel@dailypress.com